On November 5, 2013, General Dynamics NASSCO hosted a keel laying ceremony for the USNS Lewis B. Puller, the third ship in the Mobile Landing Platform (MLP) class. The ship is named in honor of Lewis B. Puller, the most decorated U.S. Marine in history and the only one to be awarded five Navy Crosses. MLP-3 is the first ship of the class to be configured as an Afloat Forward Staging Base (AFSB). Delivery is scheduled for the second quarter of 2015.

After providing robust video solutions for MLP 1 & 2, General Dynamics NASSCO has tasked SIDUS Solutions of San Diego, Calif. to engineer and supply an integrated IP video solution for this new class of vessel. SIDUS is building an upgraded IP video surveillance system that offers improved operations and safety on the ship, improving crew performance in loading and unloading, deck traffic, landings, operational security, ballast and engine room operations. An integrated alarm system allows sailors around the ship to quickly be alerted when a fast response is needed. The customized user interface provides an easy-to-understand overview and quick control that is intuitive to use, as well as providing improved safety for the operations. To complete their installation SIDUS’s efforts will be in concert with the other shipboard vendors.

Leonard Pool, Managing Director, SIDUS, said, “A critical aspect of this video solution was to be able to allow interpretability for all the key operator positions. We are pleased to have a talented group of video and software engineers that could clearly communicate the requirements and provide the technology this customer was expecting.”

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